Vehicle mounted directional antenna systems, especially for satellite applications, must maintain a stable heading while accounting for perturbations caused by unsteady vehicle motion, changes in the bearing of the target of the directional antenna system as caused by movement of the vehicle or the target and a motion caused by a bias in the operation of the gyroscopic stabilizer.
Current antenna systems stabilize an antenna based on directly detecting the motion of the vehicle and then using this information as it relates to the antenna system mounted to the vehicle. These antennas must be carefully aligned with the vehicle so that the detected vehicle motion can be accurately passed to the antenna.
Another alternative to the previously mentioned antenna setup involves an external heading and attitude reference system for the antenna. This method also requires careful alignment of the antenna in addition to significant cost and slow operation.
What is needed is a low-cost, fast, accurate stabilization system that can compensate for unsteady vehicle motion, changes in the bearing of the target of the directional antenna system as caused by movement of the vehicle or the target and a motion caused by a bias in the operation of the gyroscopic stabilizer and that can be used independent of the vehicle to which the antenna is mounted.